Daily Bible Nugget #115, James 5:19-20

The Nugget:

James 5:19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
James 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

My Comment:

James discusses the need to bring wandering sheep back to the fold. He is addressing brethren, so he is addressing true believers. He speaks, regarding the brethren he is addressing, about the potential of “any of you,” so again, he is speaking about believers. If any of the believers err from the truth, should another believer convert him, that act shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. I believe the seriousness of this issue requires that we regard saving a soul, that is, a person, from death pertains to saving them from spiritual death. Erring from the truth means to turn from true faith in Christ, and to fall into either doctrinal or moral apostasy. James thus teaches the very real possibility of apostasy of believers. He also shares the solution to the problem: one must reach out to those who have fallen into error and help them to get back to the truth. If any one is successful in such a venture, James states they will have saved a soul from death, and shall have hidden a multitude of sins. Not every Christian feels called to such a ministry. But the better prepared you are through careful study of the Bible, the more likely that God can use you to His glory in such an important and vital service.

For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:

(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 1454 for James 5:19-20.

(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on pages 1471-1472 or in Logos 5 Bible software for James 5:19-20.

(3) Lacking access to those two resources, consult the cross references for this passage as I have developed them as given below:

James 5:19. if. FS184A, 1 C +15:2 (CB); FS184C, Mt +4:9 (Robertson, Studies). Col +*1:23. 2 T *2:12. He *3:14. 2 P +*1:10. any. Gr. tis (S#5100g, Col 2:8n). of you. or, among you. err from. or, may go astray (Young). Gr. planaō (S#4105g, Mt 24:4). Ja 3:2. Dt 22:1. Ps +*119:21, 118, 176. Pr +*19:27. Is 3:12. Ezk 34:4. Mt 18:12. Mk +*12:24. Lk 21:8. 1 C +*15:2. Ga 6:1. Ep +*4:14. 1 Th +*3:5n. 1 T +*4:1n. *6:10, 21. 2 T *2:18, 25, 26. He 5:2. 2 P 2:15. **3:17. Ju 11. the truth. Ja 1:18. 3:14. Jn 8:32. 1 J 1:6. 3:18, 19. Ju +*3. and one. or, any one. Gr. tis (S#5100g, Col 2:8n). ver. 12. 1 T 3:1. convert him. or, may turn him back (Young). ver. *20. Le +*19:17. 1 S *9:27. Ps +*51:13. 80:3. La 5:21. Ezk 34:4, 16. Da +*12:3. Ml *2:6. Mt 13:15. *18:3, 15. Lk 1:16, 17. *15:3-7. 17:3. *22:32. Jn 4:36. 12:40. Ac +3:19. 9:35. +*26:18. 1 C 9:19. Ga +*6:1. 1 Th *2:13. 2 Th 3:15. Phm 1:19. He +*3:12, 13. %+*6:6, *9n. *10:24. 12:12, 13. 1 P 3:1. 1 J +*5:16. Ju *22, *23. Re 3:14-22.

James 5:20. Let him know. Gr. ginōskō (S#1097g, Jn 8:55n), by personal experience, in truth (Robertson). Ja 1:3. that he. ver. +*19. which converteth. Le +*19:17. Ps +*51:13. Pr +*11:30. Da +*12:3. Ml 2:6. Mt *18:3. Jn 12:40. Ac +*3:19. Ga 6:1. the sinner. Ja +*4:17. 2 Th 3:15. from. or, out from. Gr. ek. Out from translates the force of ek, an ablative of separation; the idea is that of being in something and moving out of it, then away from, i.e., out from the “wayward way” and “death” (cf. Ja 1:15 and note). The plain teaching of Scripture is that a Christian may forfeit a saving relationship with God (cf. Mt 18:32-35; Lk 8:13; 12:42-46; Jn 15:1-6; Ga 1:6; 5:4; 6:1; 1 T 4:1; 6:10; He 3:12, 14; 6:4-6; 10:38, 39; 12:15; 2 P 2:20-22). Sinning religionists teach “safety and security for the Father’s child even while he is sinning” (Chafer). This is because they do not believe in salvation from sin to begin with. Thus, Horton can say “even though the believer is still sinful, he or she is judged by God as blameless.” This is grounded in a false view of the Atonement—that Christ was punished (cf. Ro 8:3; 2 C 5:21; Ga 3:13 and notes), resulting in salvation concepts on the level of the Law (Ro 2:13; Ep 1:7). Atonement by punishment cannot produce regenerative change—deliverance from all sin, renewal after the image of God—thus necessitating the unbiblical supplement of security while sinning! (Cf. 1 C 5:5 and notes). The Atonement is the basis of all salvation concepts, the source of all God’s saving activity. Thus, an atonement theory that is false to the Scriptures yields erroneous ideas about the nature of salvation, Christian practice, the Judgment; and generates an environment of false assurance among its adherents. Note the contrasting effects of penal atonement with Priestly-Sacrificial Atonement: (1) Penal atonement, i.e., atonement by punishment, yields legal justification—the “sinner is freed through faith from the penalty of his sin,” but not delivered from the sin that necessitated the penalty. That God declares the “sinning Christian righteous while sinning” shows the non-regenerative nature of this false atonement theory, and that it is equal to the Law in effect (see note at He 10:4); (2) Priestly-Sacrificial Atonement yields the day of Grace (cf. Titus 2:12 and note), in which sinners are made righteous (cf. Ro 1:17 and note), and thus freed from the penalty of sin because freed from sin! (3) Penal atonement yields righteousness considered, imputed, declared; (4) Priestly-Sacrificial Atonement yields righteousness imparted, infused. (5) Atonement by punishment yields legal righteousness, an “as if”; (6) Atonement by bloodshed and death (cf. He 13:12 and note) yields regenerative righteousness, transformation, a new creation! (Cf. 2 C 5:17; Ga 6:15 and notes). (7) In the penal atonement theory, when a man is said to be born again, he is born the same old man he used to be, still sinning in thought, word, and deed daily, still bearing the fallen image of Adam; (8) Priestly-Sacrificial Atonement yields a birth from above (Jn 3:3, 5-6 and notes), in which the old man is stripped off and the new man is put on— “the one having been created in conformity with God in righteousness and holiness of truth” (Ep 4:24; cf. Ro 8:29; Col 3:9-10). (9) In the penal atonement theory, the blood of Christ leaves man where the blood of the Levitical animal left him—still in sin (cf. He 10:4 and note). Thus sins are passed over, i.e., pardoned, as under the law; still awaiting a day of deliverance; (10) In Biblical Atonement, i.e., Priestly-Sacrificial Atonement, the blood of Christ is efficacious to remove all sin now and cleanse from every conceivable unrighteousness (1 J 1:9; cf. Mt 1:21; Jn 1:29; Ac 13:38; Ep 1:7; He 9:26; 10:18). The day of salvation has come—deliverance in the here and now! Since Christ the Savior actually saves, if a Christian “…may go astray from the truth…” the sin brings forth death (Ja 1:15; see note). A system that requires security while sinning betrays the absence of the Savior (LNT, fn d). the error. Gr. planē (S#4106g, Ep 4:14). There are many who live in accord with the outward ethical standards of life who turn away from the knowledge of Jesus, who go after the strange gods of gold, of “knowledge falsely so-called,” of materialistic monism, of “New Thought,” of “Christian Science,” of “Russellism,” of any new fad in science or philosophy or religion, of any new form of old wives’ fables that lead men astray (Robertson, Studies). T#175. Ja *1:14, 15. Ps 19:12. Pr +*19:27. Ec 7:29. Mt +15:14 (T#477). 16:12. Jn +1:12 (T#183). 1 C +*6:9-11. 15:33. Ga 1:6, 7. 5:9, 19-21. 2 Th 2:11, 12. 2 T *2:16-18, 26. He +*3:12, 13. *10:26. *12:15. 2 P *2:1. *3:17. 1 J 4:6. of his way. Jb *24:13. Ps +*119:29, 30. Pr 5:6. 8:20. +*14:12, 13. Is *26:7. +*53:6. 59:8. 1 T 6:20. shall save. Ja +*1:21. 4:12. Pr *11:30. Ezk 3:18, 21. 13:19. Da +*12:3. Ob 21. Mt 18:15. Ro 11:14. 1 C 5:5. 7:16. *9:22. 1 T +*4:16. Phm 19. He +*10:39. 1 P 1:9, 21. 3:1. Ju *23. soul. Gr. psychē, FS171Q1A, Ac 2:41. from death. Ja *1:15. Ps 56:13. Pr *10:2. *11:4. 14:12. Jn **5:24. Ro *6:21. 2 T +*2:25. 1 J +*5:16. Re *20:6. hide. or, cover. Ex 32:30. Ne 4:5. Ps *32:1. 85:2. Pr **10:12. Is *43:25. 1 P **4:8. 1 J *1:7. a multitude. Ezk 28:18. Lk 7:47. 1 P 4:8. of sins. Gr. hamartia (S#266g, Ro 6:1).